Making sure Gadget Insurance and Mobile Phone Insurance is right for you

Moneymaxim want you to be delighted with any product you buy through us. Please read the following as we want to you to both understand the benefits of gadget insurance but also be aware of some of the small print in policies which might otherwise pass you by. Our aim is to make sure you get what you expect when it comes to the crunch!

Firstly - is your gadget worth insuring?

If its worth less than £75 the excess (the part of any claim you have to pay first) is likely to make any subsequent pay out very small unless you have opted for a policy with a low or no excess.

Often a gadget needs to be under 36 months old, bought new (and not from an auction site such as Ebay), and you must have the receipt.

Next - are you already insured under another policy?

Consider Home Insurance as an alternative if you have it. Do remember that Home Insurance policies can have a high excess, sometimes making it not worth claiming. Claims on your Home Insurance policy may impact a no claims bonus - making future policies and renewals more expensive. Claims processed on a Home Insurance policies can take a lot longer than under a specific gadget insurance policy.

The risks covered can also differ. Home Insurance tends not to cover breakdown or the cost of unauthorised calls. Gadget Insurance doesn't always cover theft where violence is not involved. If you have a packaged bank account you may find that mobile phone insurance is one of the benefits you are already paying for.

Finally - will your claim be paid?

The vast majority of claims are settled problem free, but underwriters only pay risks that are insured. Below are some common reasons claims fail so you are aware of them. We cannot list everything here - so read any individual policy you are considering as well.

• Normally the policyholder needs to have bought the phone, but can lend it to family members - some policies have minimum ages for policyholders & family members.
• Loss claims are not normally entertained where the phone was not with the policyholder or where it was taken from property without damage occuring.
• Theft claims from some insurers require there to have been violence used in the case of theft, some cover pickpocketed items others don't.
• Many insurers set time limits on alerting them to an insured incident - these can be as short as 24 hours - so let the company know immediately.
• Many insurers do not cover claims in the first 14 days so if you are already covered elsewhere don't cancel that insurance until your new policy is effective.

As said earlier Mobile Phone and Gadget Insurance protects millions of customers, and the vast majority of policyholders are delighted with their insurance - we have detailed the above to help ensure you are comfortable that if you need to call upon it you know you can.

As an additional reassurance for MoneyMaxim customers, you are welcome to call upon the advice of the moneymaxim customer assistance team should you have a query or issue when making a claim. Finally we recommend that you register your mobile phone or gadget details (together with any other other valubles) on www.immobilise.com. This Police recommended site allows you to store details such as the serial number and IMEI code and allow the police to identify you as the rightful owner if your property is stolen. It also adds your property to a database used by the second hand trade, making it difficult for your property to be resold through secondhand shops or recycling sites.